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From:R.E.M. , Capitol ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#38243 |
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 The R.E.M. collection to own, 2008-04-15
R.E.M.'s music is among the most influential of all-time. Their hits like 'Orange Crush' and 'Losing My Religion' still get played on FM radio stations everyday.
But, unfortunately, their early years are overlooked for their more famous Warner Bros. recordings. And that's a real shame, because R.E.M.'s best music came from their years on the IRS label, which is now owned by Capitol.
This set, 'Eponymous' is the set to own if you are just starting your R.E.M. collection. It's got all of the major early IRS recordings from 1983-1988. I can't get enough of songs like 'Radio Free Europe,' 'The One I Love' and 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It,' all of which appear on this set.
And, Capitol gets tons of credit for remastering all of these classics. In translation, the sound quality is excellent!
Overall, if you enjoyed the famous Warner Bros. years from R.E.M., than it's almost guaranteed you'll like these just as much.
Highly recommended for any R.E.M. fan. ENJOY!!!
 More Than in Name Only, 2006-09-28
'Eponymous' is R.E.M.'s conception of their greatest hits from their formidable years with IRS. It is admirable: It works well as a sampler; it adds to the experience with archival recordings that contrast from some of the originals; and it 'Documents' their growth and progression from their roots as a Southern college art band that helped create alternative rock before it became a word. The selections are fine, but they don't totally mesh together like their albums, and, though they don't spoil additional purchases for their original albums (which this reviewer believes are the best series since the Beatles) it doesn't flow or coalesce as well as their Warner Brothers' collection 'In Time, 1988-2003'.
Specifically, the punkier version of "Radio Free Europe" does "squish the [other] recording like a grape," as bassist Mike Mills renders it, but it doesn't make the 'Murmur' album version extraneous, either. All of the rest of the songs show a versatality these perfectionists mastered, including folk-rock "Talk About the Passion", New Wave ("Gardening at Night"), country-accented rock ("Don't Go Back to Rockville"), and, even jazzy music with guitar that has the trajectory of the Ramones ("Can't Get There from Here"). All in all, despite the particular criticisms, 'Eponymous' can jump start or cap off a fine R.E.M. C.D. collection.
3 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
Eponymous in name only, 2006-08-12
I want to start this review by saying that another reviewer called this album a waste to get, simply because all of the songs can be found other releases by R.E.M. This isn't a wholly true statement, though.
At the time he wrote that review, Eponymous was the only place where you could find the Hib-tone version of Radio Free Europe. That will change when R.E.M. releases a new I.R.S. years compilation a month from when this review was written. Now, the different vocal mix of Gardening At Night and the mutual drum-horn mix of Finest Worksong can be found on a couple of rare b-sides collections (namely "R.E.M. In The Attic" and "R.E.M. Singles Collected"), but the only other place you can find the song Romance is on the Made In Heaven soundtrack, which--as far as I know--has never been released on CD; only on cassette and vinyl.
So, with all that out of the way, I can move on. Eponymous was my first R.E.M. album ever. I found it one day in my brother's drawer, and I never looked back. This is a very good album for people who want to get familiar with pre-Warner Brothers R.E.M. stuff, but with that being said, it barely scratches the surface of their early work.
On the more technical side of things, the album suffers from many of the typical problems found in early CDs: not much bass, brittle treble, and rather poor dynamics. Be that as it may, it's still a good starting point for the uninitiated and a great collector's item for the die-hard fan.
Great collection of R.E.M. classics, 2006-08-11
While its always better to have each of the individual albums to get some of the deeper cuts. This disk has a great collection of R.E.M. classics.
4 of 5 customers found the following review helpful:
 Get A Less Expensive CD of This Album, 2006-06-14
I love this album.
The problem is that the older copy I bought years ago sounds terrible - muddy low volume, poor dynamics. I bought THIS Japanese import hoping that the sound would be much better, since I've had good experiences with other Japanese issued CDs.
Unfortunately this CD is EXACTLY like the domestic version. The Amazon listing shows an issue date of July 3, 2003. But the actual CD has an issue date of 1988! Needless to say I am very disappointed, having spent over $25 for a disc I already have, that I could have purchased again for a mere $2.00 --- WHAT A RIPOFF!
Buyers, beware - you have been warned...
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